General Motors revealed a new technology roadmap focused on autonomous driving, high-powered car computers, and advanced battery systems during an event in New York City last week. The company intends to reduce the standard four- to five-year vehicle development cycle to just over two years.
Sterling Anderson, the chief product officer of General Motors, explained that the firm is using transformer-based foundation models for generative design. “I kick off thousands of tests in the virtual world that give me feedback much quicker,” Anderson said.
The manufacturer is prototyping new battery chemistries and investing billions of dollars into next-generation battery plants. To address softening demand for electric vehicles in the United States, General Motors is recalibrating its electrification strategy while facing expansion from hyper-efficient Chinese rivals.
The company is developing hands-free, eyes-off driving automation for personal ownership and performing inference for safety-critical functions directly onboard the vehicle. A common electrical system featuring centralized compute is being rolled out, alongside the T1-2 platform for next-generation trucks which is shared across brands.
Mark Reuss, the President, previously discussed moving toward a vehicle's “digital brain” in 2019, while Anderson spoke about Ultifi in 2021.
